For Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya, there is no love lost between him and now-former client Canelo Alvarez. Ties were officially cut last Nov. 6 after a settlement was reached by all parties involved. Alvarez is now a free agent and will be responsible for looking after his career from here on.
It will be recalled that Alvarez sued DAZN and Golden Boy for a breach of contract. This largely happened when DAZN would only pay a portion of the licensing fee of Alvarez. The streaming service tried to meddle on who the Mexican Brawler would face. DAZN refused to honor the contract with Alvarez, not approving the outstanding opponents presented and refusing to pay the amount stated in the contract.
The lawsuit dragged on for weeks and there was even a lull that most had hoped could remedy the issue. Nothing happened and Alvarez pursued his case and won. Despite the ugly back and forth battle, De La Hoya said that he understands where Alvarez was coming from and wishes him the best of luck.
Oscar De La Hoya's statement on Canelo Alvarez leaving Golden Boy https://t.co/NLqQDrHTEP via @boxingnews24 — Waymon Harley (@WaymonHarley) November 7, 2020
“It is unfortunate that it had to get to this scenario. [The settlement] worked out for both parties, I believe. There’s no lost love between Canelo and I. I wish him the best. We did a lot of good business together and we promoted some of the biggest fights in the sport together, so how can I be angry?” De La Hoya said to Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports.
De La Hoya went on to explain that the case of Alvarez was different from his situation with Top Rank. He felt that he already had a good deal in place. That may not apply to Alvarez with the marketplace entirely different from before.
Right now, the first order of business for Alvarez is to fight before 2020 ends. As mentioned in a previous post, the Mexican is looking to fight Caleb Plant on Dec. 19. Alvarez will be in for a battle if this pushes through.
If not Plant, Callum Smith is another name being tossed in the mix. According to promoter Eddie Hearn via BBC, they are close to sealing a fight with Alvarez.
"Canelo is used to generating millions and millions of dollars on the gate and that is now virtually non-existent. It's difficult times to get these deals moving but there is definite interest from Alvarez and Smith to get that deal over the line," Hearn said.
